Gratings

ABSTRACT

This simplified and economical grating structure comprises flat parallel elongated sections or bars disposed on edge and braced by means of bosses pressed directly in said sections and projecting from at least one lateral

Jaconeli GRATINGS [75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: A.V.D. (A Votre Distribution, Lyon,

France [22] Filed: Sept. 20, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 291,093

Pierre Jaconeli, Lyon, France [30] Foreign Application Priority DataSept. 21, 1971 France 71.34726 [52] US. Cl. 52/674, 404/35 [51] Int. Cl.E04c 2/42, EO4f 19/10 [58] Field of Search 52/450, 671, 618, 625,

1451 Oct. 8, 1974 3,173,383 3/1965 Eggert 1. 52/618 3,190,412 6/1965Rutter et a1 52/630 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 642,712 7/1962 1Italy 52/450 Primary ExaminerFrank P. Abbott Assistant ExaminerJames L.Ridgill, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firml(arl F. Ross; Herbert Dubno [5 7]ABSTRACT This simplified and economical grating structure comprises flatparallel elongated sections or bars disposed on edge and braced by meansof bosses pressed directly in said sections and projecting from at leastone lateral face of each section. The sections are assembled, bywelding, setting or otherwise, by causing the apices of registeringbosses to contact one another; elongated bosses may also be used, andV-shaped notches may be pressed in the edges of the sections forconstituting anti-skid elements; a plurality of grating elements may beassembled and secured to one another by juxtaposition, the sectionsbeing formed in this case with a bent end portion engaging a gap in theadjacent section. Preferably, the pitch and shape of the alternatingbosses are such that the bosses form together a sinusoidal sectionthrough the grating element 2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures GRATINGS FIELDOF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to gratings.

In certain constructions, and notably'in workshops comprising severallevels or storeys, pressed or stamped metal gratings are commonly usedfor flooring purposes.

REFERENCE TO THE PRIOR ART As a rule, these gratings comprise a metalframe structure having secured to its edges a plurality of cross memberscrossing each other to constitute a rigid assembly of which the upper,flat and perforated surface constituted by the edges of the memberslying in a plane which forms the floor proper.

Gratings or this general type are objectionable on account of theirconsiderable weight per unit surface area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the essential object of the presentinvention to provide a grating structure the construction of which isboth simplified and more economical, with a weight per unit surface areaapproximating that of perforated sheet metal elements.

The grating structure according to the present invention ischaracterised in that it comprises flat parallel sections, disposed onedge, braced by pressed bosses projecting from at least one of theirlateral faces.

Thus, the use of cross members for stiffening the gratings in thetransverse direction may be dispensed with.

According to a typical form of embodiment of this invention, the gratingstructure consists of sections in which bosses are pressed or stamped soas to project alternatively on one and the other lateral faces of thesections, said sections being so disposed that the bosses formed on thelateral faces of two adjacent sections engage one another at theirapices.

With this arrangement the number of sections necessary for the gratingconstruction may be reduced by one-half, the grating weight beingreduced accordingly.

Or course, the plurality or section constituting the gratings may beassembled through any known means but preferably by welding or settingat all or part of their mutual contact points.

If each section comprises bosses projecting alternately from one and theother lateral faces thereof, the bosses projecting from one face areformed with a central hole at their apex, and those projecting from theopposite face comprise tubular tenons adapted to be fitted into theholes of the adjacent bosses engaged thereby, to permit the subsequentsetting or the two adjacent sections.

Of course, the relative position of the bosses formed on each sectiondetermines the grating pattern which may be of any desired type.However, in order to derive the maximum advantage from the increment ingeneral strength resulting from the presence of the bosses on eachsection, and especially to reduce the section thickness and consequentlythe weight of the gratings, the pitch and shape of these bosses arecalculated with a view to cause these alternating bosses to formsinusoidal patterns with one another (in cross section).

On the other hand, it may be noted that an improved strength may beimparted to the sections by using elongated bosses having its majordimension dispposed parallel to the section length.

Finally, according to a complementary feature of this invention and witha view to minimize the risk of slipping on the sections in thelongitudinal direction there of, the waves or corrugations resultingfrom the recesses formed along the upper and lower edges or each sectionat the level of the vertical median plane of each boss and resultingfrom the stamping or pressing of these bosses are not eliminated but onthe contrary accentuated, in order to constitute anti-skid elements.

Moreover, in order further to improve the mutual anchoring of saidbosses in the longitudinal direction of the sections, and also in theother directions, each section comprises in the gap formed between anypair of adjacent bosses and at the level of its upper and lower edges,respectively, substantially V-shaped pressed portions or notchesprojecting alternately from one and the other side of the section anddifferently from one gap to another the free edges or said pressedportions or notches constituting likewise efficient non-skid elements inthe general grating structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are fragmentary planviews from above and in cross section showing three embodiments of thegrating structure of this invention;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are plan views from above showing three sectionsadapted to be used in the manufacture of said gratings;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view showing more particularly theprojections and constructions formed in each section during the pressingor stamping of said bosses;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view showing a modified embodiment of thesection shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan elevational view from above showing the possibilitiesof assembling one element of said gratings with other juxtaposedelements, and

FIG. 10' is a perspective view showing diagrammatically another of asection suitable for carrying out this invention.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION The gratings according to the present inventioncomprise essentially flat parallel sections braced by means of bossesformed by stamping or pressing therein and projecting from at least oneof their lateral faces.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 each section 2 comprises pressedbosses 3 and the sections are assembled for example by welding all orpart of the points of mutual contact to one another. It may be notedthat said sections 2 are off-set laterally so that each boss 3 of onesection is fixed to the web formed between a pair of adjacent bosses ofthe adjacent section.

In a modified embodiment shown in FIG. 2 each section 4 comprisesaligned bosses 5a, 5b projecting turns alternately from one and theother face of the section. Moreover, to permit the assembling of thevarious sections 4 by setting, each boss 5a comprises at its apex atenon6 adapted to penetrate into the hole 7 formed through the apex ofthe boss 5b of the adjacent section 4 during the assembling operation.

Of course. it is not necessary to have all the bosses of one sectionfirmly connected to the corresponding bosses of the adjacent section.

It may be noted that the fact of forming said bosses on either side ofeach section permits of doubling its lateral dimension and therefore ofreducing by one-half the number of sections necessary for constituting agrating structure.

It is known that forming pressed areas in a flat sectio will improve itsrigidity while reducing the possibility of warping same. Therefore, thepresence of bosses 5a and 5b on the above-mentioned sections 4 willreduce the thickness of this section 4 without impairing its rigidityand mechanical strength. For further reducing the thickness of thissection and therefore the weight per surface unit of the grating, it isadvantageous to form the bosses with a relative pitch p such that thealternate bosses 8a, 8b of a same section 9 will form togcther, whenseen in plan view from above and as shown notably in FIG. 3, a regularsinusoid.

Of course, the distribution of said bosses on each section, as well asthe particular shape of these bosses, may vary assume the configurationsillustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, as a function of the section material andthe desired grating pattern. Moreover, each boss may have a generallycircular shape as shown in H6. 7 or, in contrast thereto, an elongatedshape, i.e. an elliptic crosssectional shape 11 with the'major axis ofthe ellipse parallel or substantially parallel to the longitudinal axisof the section, as shown in FIG. 8.

When pressing or stamping the bosses 5a, 5b, recessed portions 10,visible more particularly in FIG. 7, are formed at the level or thevertical median plane of each boss and along the upper and lower edgesof the section, to constitute waves or corrugations 12 along eachsection edge.

According to a specific feature characterising this invention, the wavesor corrugations 12, which would normally be removed, are on the contraryaccentuated in order to constitute non-skid elements counteracting anytendency of the user to slip in the longitudinal direction of thesections.

In fact, when a person is walking on a grating structure according tothe present invention, his shoe soles must engage some retaining oranti-skid elements preventing him from skidding, irrespective of thedirection in which said person may walk with respect to the mainlongitudinal axes of the gratings.

According to a specific form of embodiment of this invention and with aview to further improve the engagement of shoe soles with the gratings,each section thereof comprises as shown in FIG. spaced and substantiallyV-shaped pressed notches 13 of which the free edges act as non-skidelements. These notches 13 project alternately on one and the other sideof each section 2 and to a different degree from one gap to another. ltmay be noted that the useful or operative edges of each notch 13 areformed on top of each sec tion 2, as shown at 12, so that they areparticularly capable of acting as non-skid elements.

Generally, the various sections are assembled by welding or setting, butit is also possible to complete the grating structure, if necessary,with transverse rods 14 as shown more particularly in FIG. 2. These rodsdisposed at right angles to the sections 4 or otherwise extend throughthese sections by using to this end the bore formed to this end in thetubular tenons 6 of bosses 5a. Of course. these rods are provided onlyat proper relative intervals. for example every three or four bosses.

Although the sections constituting the gratings may have any desiredlength it is obvious that transporting the gratings to the constructionsite makes it necessary to manufacture them in the form of separateelements adapted to be stacked and subsequently assembled. Thus, whilethe juxtaposition of an element 15 as illustrated in FIG. 8 with anotherelement such as is a relatively simple matter due to the presence oftenons 6 engageable into the holes 7 of the registering bosses, theassembling of the same element 15 with an element such as 15b is not sosimple.

To this end, the present invention provides on each section 4 an elbowor bent lug 16 at one of its free ends and when assembling the sections4 these are properly disposed so that one elbow 16 projectsalternatively from the right-hand of left-hand side of the longitudinaledges or the gratings. Thus, the gap between two adjacent sections 4 isclosed on one side by an elbow 16 but comprises on the other side anopening 18.

Thus, when the grating element 15b is juxtaposed to element 15, theelbows or lugs of the former engage the opening 18 of the latter, andvice versa, thus ensuring the proper relative positioning of these twoelements.

As will be clearly apparent from the above description, the presentinvention should not be construed as being strictly limited to thespecific embodiments described and illustrated herein, since variousmodifications and variations may be brought thereto without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

What ll claim as new is:

l. A grating adapted to constitute a floor surface, said gratingcomprising a multiplicity of substantially coextensive mutually paralleltransversely spaced elongated flat grating elements disposed on edge andhaving generally coplanar upper and lower edges with their upper edgesconstituting said floor surface, said elements each being of a widthbetween its upper and lower edges substantially less than the elementlength; and a row of bosses of generally round configuration unitarilypressed in each of said elements and tapering in alternate directionstransversely toward an adjacent element while being secured thereto atapices of said bosses, said bosses being of a width less than that ofthe respective element, the bosses of each element extending in onedirection being secured to the bosses of an adjacent element extendingin the opposite direction, the bosses along one side of each elementbeing formed with tubular projections at their apices and the bossesalong the opposite side of each element being formed with holes at theirapices receiving the projections of an adjacent element.

2. A grating adapted to constitute a floor surface, said gratingcomprising a multiplicity of substantially coextensive mutually paralleltransversely spaced elongated flat grating elements disposed on edge andhaving generally coplanar upper and lower edges with their upper edgesconstituting said floor surface, said elements each being of a widthbetween its upper and lower edges substantially less than the elementlength; and a row of bosses unitarily pressed in each of said elementsand tapering transversely toward an adjacent element while being securedthereto at apices of said bosses, at least said upper edge of each ofsaid elements being deformed laterally in opposite directions to produceV-shaped notches defining nonskid elements along said surface.

1. A grating adapted to constitute a floor surface, said gratingcomprising a multiplicity of substantially coextensive mutually paralleltransversely spaced elongated flat grating elements disposed on edge andhaving generally coplanar upper and lower edges with their upper edgesconstituting said floor surface, said elements each being of a widthbetween its upper and lower edges substantially less than the elementlength; and a row of bosses of generally round configuration unitarilypressed in each of said elements and tapering in alternate directionstransversely toward an adjacent element while being secured thereto atapices of said bosses, said bosses being of a width less than that ofthe respective element, the bosses of each element extending in onedirection being secured to the bosses of an adjacent element extendingin the opposite direction, the bosses along one side of each elementbeing formed with tubular projections at their apices and the bossesalong the opposite side of each element being formed with holes at theirapices receiving the projections of an adjacent element.
 2. A gratingadapted to constitute a floor surface, said grating comprising amultiplicity of substantially coextensive mutually parallel transverselyspaced elongated flat grating elements disposed on edge and havinggenerally coplanar upper and lower edges with their upper edgesconstituting said floor surface, said elements each being of a widthbetween its upper and lower edges substantially less than the elementlength; and a row of bosses unitarily pressed in each of said elementsand tapering transversely toward an adjacent element while being securedthereto at apices of said bosses, at least said upper edge of each ofsaid elements being deformed laterally in opposite directions to produceV-shaped notches defining nonskid elements along said surface.